Food Rules
Everyone is talking about Michael Pollan’s book Food Rules, but Pollan is waaaaaaay off base with his Rule about junk food.
This is Pollan’s response to a question about his favorite Rule:
Question: Do you have any favorite rules besides the grandmother rule you mentioned earlier?
Answer: “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” That gets at a lot of our issues. I love French fries, and I also know if I ate French fries every day it would not be a good thing. One of our problems is that foods that are labor or money intensive have gotten very cheap and easy to procure. French fries are a great example. They are a tremendous pain to make. Wash the potatoes, fry potatoes, get rid of the oil, clean up the mess. If you made them yourself you’d have them about once a month, and that’s probably about right. The fact that labor has been removed from special occasion food has made us treat it as everyday food. One way to curb that and still enjoy those foods is to make them. Try to make your own Twinkie. I don’t even know if you can. I imagine it would be pretty difficult. How do you get the cream in there?
From his response, it’s obvious Mr. Pollan has never watched Paula Deen’s show on the Food Network. If he had, he would know that it takes less than 15 minutes before these butter-laden, chocolate-stuffed, peanut butter-laced, Monster Cookies pop out of your very own oven so you can soothe your irresistible craving for junk food.
And with just a bit more effort on your part, you can make a piping-hot batch of Paula Deen’s devilishly delectable Fried Butter Balls. Go ahead, click on the link. It’s a real recipe! You may be surprised that 44 people have left comments on the Food Network website describing their experience with Fried Butter Balls.
My favorite of these comments:
Lard instead of Veg. Oil?? anyone? I make this every evening and my family simply adores it! Also, try frying it in lard instead of vegetable oil..it tastes a lot better.. I hit upon this accidentally when we ran out of veg. oil. Has anyone tried it?? Appreciate any feedback Thank you, Paula..great recipe
This commenter just admitted to the Internet that he makes Fried Butter Balls every evening?! With lard!?!**
Clearly, it’s way too easy to make one’s own junk food (or - in the case of butter balls fried in lard: junk non-food). And eat all of it.
Sorry Mr. Pollan. If I ate all the junk food I could cook myself, I’d be in trouble.
But I do like this rule: ”Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” None of the other rules in Food Rules is as useful as this one.
** First runner-up for my favorite comment:
I’m SO TIRED of people thinking the SOUTH is a region filled with poor white alligator wrestlers!
I’m from Georgia, and I’m absolutely sick and tired of people saying she’s white trash because she is southern. I have to admit there is some trash, but isn’t there trash in the stupid Yankee states as well? There’s trashy people everywhere. I’ve been to the northern yankee states, and if you want to talk about trash, you people don’t have much manners at all. I went to this restaurant and can you believe that he told his mother to ” f off” I couldn’t believe my ears. If it was me I would have scrubbed there tongues with Lava Soap. GOOD FOOD IS NOT TRASHY FOOD! SO STOP BEING SO BOURGEISOIS!
I do like the rule about eating things my great grandmother would recognize as food.
I cut up potatoes the other day, soaked them, dried them and baked them. Sort of french fry-ish.
I haven’t read Food Rules, but some of his other books have me thinking a lot more and paying attention more to what I’m eating.
(I only out once a month or so anyway)
Comment by Alliegator — January 8, 2010 @ 11:57 am
I have liked Michael Pollan’s other books: The Omnivore’s Dilemma being my favorite of his. The Botany of Desire is good, too.
Comment by ECS — January 8, 2010 @ 12:04 pm
Sheesh, I need to proof-read-
I only EAT out once a month or so anyway….
I liked In Defense of Food.
I saw the PBS documentary on the Botany of Desire- it was really interesting.
Comment by Alliegator — January 8, 2010 @ 12:06 pm
#1 After you dry the potatoes, toss them in a bowl with a bit of oil and salt before baking them. (Olive oil and sea salt and rosemary if you’re super bourgeoise.) Oven fries rock.
Comment by Bro. Jones — January 8, 2010 @ 12:33 pm
ECS I would love love love to go to Georgia….Do you live there now? Is it easy to get around? Hows the food? What is a tourist thing and not tourist thing to do? and whats a good drive?
Comment by CZ — January 8, 2010 @ 12:34 pm
#4- I spray them with Pam and sprinkle them with salt or season all. I’ll have to try the bowl method.
Comment by Alliegator — January 8, 2010 @ 12:35 pm
CZ - I’ve never lived in Georgia, but I’ve been to Savannah five or six times. It’s beautiful! And, coincidentally, the home of Paula Deen’s restaurant
Here’s what I’d recommend for a trip down South: fly into Savannah, rent a car and spend a day or so exploring the historic parts of the city and River Street/the waterfront. Then drive a couple of hours from Savannah to Charleston, South Carolina. Both Savannah and Charleston are well worth the trip - excellent food, beautiful sights, nice people. (South Carolina’s motto on its license plates is “Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places”. Except for that darn flag they insist on flying)
Comment by ECS — January 8, 2010 @ 12:46 pm
Pollan’s rule would probably work fine for me. I am way too lazy a cook to fry things in grease, I’d have to really really really want it. I’m also too lazy to make cookies or cakes, unless I have to by way of special occasions. I haven’t read Food Rules yet, but I keep wondering how different could it be from In Defense of Food?
Comment by fMhLisa — January 8, 2010 @ 12:54 pm
I’ve learned that talking about real food is kinda like talking about fashion: everybody has their own idea of what exactly that means.
For example, I think I’d prefer frying butter balls in lard than vegetable oil. If only because I know for a fact my great-grandmother had much easier access to lard than oil. And she did not have a weight problem and was quite healthy.
I actually have tried Pollan’s idea about eating all the junk food you want if you make it yourself. I’ve learned that I love to cook, and that he’s absolutely right. Eating my own junk food never brings guilt. And if I’m honest, it also doesn’t add to my waist line. Lard or not.
Comment by Ahna — January 8, 2010 @ 12:58 pm
Hmm. I think the comment from the butterballs-cooked-in-lard-every-evening guy was probably a joke. 1) It’s just too ridiculous; 2) how many people keep lard on hand these days? I have lots and lots of southern relatives and I’ve never seen any of them cook anything in lard; and 3) he actually asks for feedback. Sounds like he’s baiting (while indirectly making fun of the recipe).
Also, as unappealing as the recipe sounds, I’ll bet that changing the name to “cream cheese balls” would probably alter our perception. Slightly.
Comment by Morgan Lee — January 8, 2010 @ 12:58 pm
Lisa - I think Pollan is beginning to suffer from Thomas Friedman Syndrome, which is diagnosed as an irresistible compulsion to recycle ideas the author has already published. Unlike Thomas Friedman, Pollan’s case does not appear to be terminal.
I think the key to not baking one’s own junk food is avoid keeping on hand strategically important ingredients such as chocolate chips, cream cheese and various other necessary items.
Comment by ECS — January 8, 2010 @ 1:01 pm
#6 The cool thing about the bowl is that a very little bit of oil goes a long way. Same idea as tossing salad with dressing instead of just drizzling it on top.
#11 Keeping stuff on hand is essential. If you’re out of everything when you decide to make a particular dish (junk food or no), you’re that much more likely to pick up a pre-packaged version when you go to the store to stock up.
Comment by Bro. Jones — January 8, 2010 @ 1:04 pm
ECS Thanks, I really want to make it happen and the ideas really help.
Comment by CZ — January 8, 2010 @ 1:05 pm
Making more stuff at home has taught me one thing. Most store junk food doesn’t taste particularly good. The cookies dh and I make are much better and so now we just make those once a week. We love tortilla chips, but haven’t found a brand in florida we like, so I pan fry them. It makes much smaller batches, so it doesn’t work for parties or nachos, but it does OK for lunches or snacks. I’ll now have to try the bowl idea with baked fries, I never could get them will mixed on the pan.
Anyone got a killer brownie recipe?
Comment by miles — January 8, 2010 @ 1:16 pm
For savory things, this would work for me. It is easier to make reasonably healthy meals than it is to make unhealthy ones.
For sweets, this would be a diasaster. Yummy sweets that are bad for me are my downfall, and I know how to make them delicious and very, very quickly.
Comment by Katie P. — January 8, 2010 @ 1:22 pm
I eat what I want. I don’t babysit my food (don’t count calories or look at nutrition.) Before every meal I drink 1 tsp of apple cidar vinegar which helps digest everything I eat. I eat fast food 1-2 x daily. I only weigh 135 lbs. And I also make a lot of junk food at home. We have greens at every dinner. That’s our family’s thing. Thanks for this post. Love it.
Comment by Angela Baillio — January 8, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
I liked what I heard Pollan say on The Daily Show: “Eat food.” He clarified with “Eat real food; don’t eat edible things disguised as food.”
I definitely get your point though about Paula Deen, where every recipe starts with a stick (or more) of butter.
Comment by Chelsea — January 8, 2010 @ 2:06 pm
I think Pollan’s rules are all pretty good (which isn’t to say I follow them very well…). |I think we’re less likely to overindulge in junk food when we make them ourselves, and they are less likely to contain all of the polysyllabic, indecipherable ingredients, the ultimate effects of which we’re still sorting out.
Comment by Derek — January 8, 2010 @ 2:24 pm
#16 Angela is joking right?
Comment by Roxanna — January 8, 2010 @ 3:04 pm
I’ve actually never read anything by this author, which would you recommend if I were to read one of his many books?
Comment by Roxanna — January 8, 2010 @ 3:08 pm
(Sorry in advance for an off-topic comment …)
CZ–If you want to visit South Carolina, see if you can get your hands on “Off the Beaten Path: South Carolina”. There are at least two new editions from the one I have, but William Price Fox is a fantastic travel writer.
I also recommend Charleston and Savannah, and the drive between them. Atlanta has some interesting history and culture, but it’s more spread out than Charleston or Savannah. In terms of Southern capitals, I prefer Columbia to Atlanta.
Comment by Sarah in Georgia — January 8, 2010 @ 3:14 pm
#19: We can only hope.
Comment by Katie P. — January 8, 2010 @ 3:19 pm
Maybe this makes me a snob, but as far as junk food is concerned, I have a personal rule not to eat junk if it’s not even one of my favorites.
It’s nice to indulge now and then, but I don’t see the need of taking in a lot of sugar and fat if it’s not even something I love. For instance, I don’t much care for brownies, chocolate chip cookies, or pie (except pumpkin). They’re good, but they’re nothing spectacular. I’ve had them a million times, and they get boring. Why take in 500 calories on mediocre brownies when I could be taking in that same 500 calories with a delicious creme brulee?
This sort of rule makes it so I don’t feel bad having bananas foster now and then, but I don’t feel the need to eat the cookies that someone brought to Relief Society just because they’re available. In the end, I end up eating less junk because the kind of desserts I really like are not as commonplace or as easy to make as the ones I pass up.
Comment by AllieKay — January 8, 2010 @ 3:29 pm
I like it! Oh, as for tossing the potatoes in a bowl with oil, YES, it works great. I got the tip from America’s Test Kitchen and it works like a charm. I use way less oil. I have been going by this “make your own junk food” rule for a long time. I don’t usually buy cookies or cakes from the store. I try to make them from scratch at home. I eat them far less then I should this way. I am also super freaked about High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is in EVERYTHING these days. So, it is a challenge to watch your budget AND buy healthy, but it is possible. Did anyone see Food Inc. Scary stuff. I want to buy the free range and organic stuff, but it can be very difficult on a budget. So, I do the best I can.
Comment by Katie — January 8, 2010 @ 3:52 pm
I love Michael Pollen! Especially that any good diet boils down to those three little sentences: ”Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” I actually spent October, November and part of December off of junk food and only eating treats if I made them myself. I don’t like to cook much so it worked great for me. I lost 10 pounds. I also didn’t feel hungry because I made no attempt to limit food intake or cut calories. Granted, I did gain half of it back once I started eating Christmas candy but I’m ready to get back on the wagon next week after my son’s Betty Crocker cake mix birthday cake is all gone.
Comment by Cindy — January 8, 2010 @ 3:53 pm
#23 That’s exactly what I do, I don’t like to waste the calories on something I’m not going to really enjoy, that being said, there are a lot of things that I really enjoy:) Pie is actually one thing that I generally don’t waste the calories on, which is good because DH is an addict and brings it home often.
Comment by Roxanna — January 8, 2010 @ 4:10 pm
Big solid masses of lard are available at the grocery stores here in Mississippi. I’ve seen them with my own eyes!
Comment by kew — January 8, 2010 @ 4:10 pm
#11 ECS Oh dear, should I admit that I keep a year’s supply of chocolate chips in my food storage?
Comment by wistfulblue — January 8, 2010 @ 4:16 pm
This is a pretty old food philosophy actually. I think the best diet ever, as opposed to counting calories, is to simply snub convenience foods, fast food, junk foods and frozen or preprepared/prepackaged foods. It can be tricky as you have to commit to eating fresh,self-prepared foods but it is wildly effective and healthy. You get used to eating such amazing food this way that anything not freshly prepared won’t really do it for you anymore, you won’t even crave it.You will just want that unfrozen meat, fresh vegetables etc. This book sort of just takes an old idea and puts a new flashy dress on it to sell it.
Comment by Travelin' Pants — January 8, 2010 @ 4:17 pm
I think lard is more widely available these days due to the growing Hispanic population in the US.
#23 AllieKay, I heard a chef on Food Network (can’t remember which one it was) say something similar - that she stays thin by only eating really good food. I should follow that rule, I can’t count the number of times I’ve eaten something totally unhealthy and thought “That wasn’t even good.” It’s not worth the calories if it doesn’t taste awesome!
Comment by Chelsea — January 8, 2010 @ 4:25 pm
I am lucky in that fast foods, high fat foods, and processed foods are very hard on my stomach. I really don’t like them at all. I grew up a poor farm girl and all we had were vegetables and lean meats and such. So I never acquired a taste for the rich stuff. (we never had gravy or salt or any of that)
Fried butter balls sounds gross. It makes the back of my throat hurt just to think about it.
Comment by StillConfused — January 8, 2010 @ 4:27 pm
#24 Katie, During that same interview on the Daily Show Pollan said that Americans get 15% to 20% of their calories from high fructose corn syrup. My jaw just about hit the floor when I heard that.
Comment by Chelsea — January 8, 2010 @ 4:28 pm
I really like Pollan but haven’t read his latest book. I don’t know exactly how he defines junk food, since to me, it’s by definition processed food. I think it is impossible to replicate Cheetos at home. I think homemade Oreos are gross. The time, effort, money and science that goes into manipulating our taste buds is astonishing and effective.
I think we’ve done a real disservice to certain foods by even giving them the same name as the processed crap that food corporations try to pawn off on us. French fries, ice cream, bread, cookies, potato chips, all made with the right equipment, ingredients, and recipes taste almost nothing like their purchased counterpart.
The food culture in the US is depressing. And I think the Food Network doesn’t do much to help it.
Comment by Lupita — January 8, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
Chelsea, if that is surprising to you, you must watch the documentary King Corn. It made me really angry. I never want to touch another corn product in my life.
Comment by Chandelle — January 8, 2010 @ 4:56 pm
Thanks Chandelle, I’ll have to check that out. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma he delves into the corn industry and how it’s so pervasive, but the thought that HFCS would make up so much of our US diet still shocked me.
Comment by Chelsea — January 8, 2010 @ 5:02 pm
I have a cube of lard in the freezer. Pie crust made with lard is better. We only eat pie once or twice a year, so I figure we might as well eat good pie. I’ve been trying to avoid eating junk food unless it’s something I really love. Mexi-Fries at Taco Time for instance…
Grocery Store pie, I’ll pass (unless it would hurt someone’s feelings, then I eat a small piece).
If I had to pick one Michael Pollan book, I’d pick In Defense of Food. I had a hard time getting through Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Comment by Alliegator — January 8, 2010 @ 5:43 pm
Kew - where are you in MS? I live in Columbus.
I lived in GA for 7 years, in both Atlanta and Savannah. We went back to Savannah with our kids over Thanksgiving and ate at Paula Deen’s restaurant. Had a great time. There is great food, nice beach at Tybee, and lots of history. I loved Atlanta when I lived there and love going back to visit. So much to do!
We do like our butter and grease here in the south. Our traditional New Year’s dinner (which I fixed this year for some friends from out west) is black-eyed peas and green (turnip, mustard, or collard) cooked with bacon grease, salt pork and ham.
Comment by Lori — January 8, 2010 @ 6:00 pm
One of my best girlfriends went home to UT over the holidays, came home and informed me that fried butter is the new craze. I didn’t believe her; I thought, surely, we’d stopped at fried cheese cake? Apparently I was wrong…
Pollan’s rule would, I think, make sense for a certain segment of the population: those of us who are extremely lazy. Usually, it’s easy to forgive yourself for eating absolute crud because, well, you’re busy and it’s available. This is how I put on 40 pounds while studying for the bar exam.
Comment by CJ — January 8, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
#19 I don’t think Angela is kidding. Apple cider vinegar is an age-old remedy and especially helpful with digestion.
Comment by LVO — January 8, 2010 @ 6:09 pm
Sorry. The link didn’t work in my previous post.
http://earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html
Comment by LVO — January 8, 2010 @ 6:11 pm
I took a cooking class once and we were taught to make pie crusts using lard. They turn out flakier (i.e.better) apparently. However, I’ve never made pie crusts that way outside of the class. It just seems WRONG.
Comment by mk7 — January 8, 2010 @ 6:13 pm
Chelsea, I don’t know if this is the best movie, but “Food, Inc.” has a segment about the corn usage in America.
Comment by mk7 — January 8, 2010 @ 6:17 pm
#41- I feel the same way about pie crust with crisco. Yuck.
There’s a new documentary, called “Fresh”, but it’s still in private screenings. As soon as it’s available on netflix I’m going to get it. I’ve read that it’s really well done, and instead of just pointing out the horrors of the food industry, it actually gives some suggestions of what we can do.
Comment by Alliegator — January 8, 2010 @ 6:19 pm
#14 I have a brownie recipe that I think is pretty good. I can make it with or without caramel swirled through it.
(how can you go wrong with caramel and chocolate, really?)
I’ll have to go dig it out (later).
Comment by Alliegator — January 8, 2010 @ 6:22 pm
#14–killer brownies? Try these: Mint Brownies!
Comment by Jim Donaldson — January 8, 2010 @ 6:31 pm
Ooops:
Comment by Jim Donaldson — January 8, 2010 @ 6:32 pm
Cant seem to get the link to work.
3rd time:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/barsandsquares/ChocolateMintBrownies.html
Comment by Jim Donaldson — January 8, 2010 @ 6:32 pm
When I was studying for my contracts exam, during first year of law school, I made a cherry pie from scratch, ate about half the pie, then finished the whole thing to hide the evidence.
Comment by CJ — January 8, 2010 @ 6:35 pm
I think it’s all about balance of course. In college I had room mates that would eat a container of peanut butter mixed with m&ms or an entire half gallon of ice cream within a couple of days. Craziness. I find it is easiest to maintain my weight by eating simply three meals a day, and if I want, a small dessert at night. I take my kids to a play place/fast food thingy two times a month and usually go out to a restaurant with my husband once a month. Other than that, it’s pretty much me who makes the food from real ingredients. I think making your own food really does help maintain weight. Our bodies actually know what to do with things that aren’t processed I actually stopped buying snack food other than raisins and low fat mozzarella sticks and my kids are actually eating their meals now too instead of filling up on tasty snacks!
Comment by M — January 8, 2010 @ 7:01 pm
I am all about keeping processed foods out of my house and I absolutely love cooking fresh. I get an extreme amount of joy from chopping up fresh vegetables (is that strange?) and I also get a sense of pride from cooking healthy fresh from scratch food for my family.
Comment by Roxanna — January 8, 2010 @ 7:27 pm
A question about Food Inc., I’ve really been wanting to see it, but I have this fear that if I do I won’t ever be able to eat anything again, I tend to internalize things to the extreme. For those of you who have seen it, do you think I can survive it?
Comment by Roxanna — January 8, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
#51- If you eat meat, it might turn you off that. As a vegetarian, I was sometimes overwhelmed by the imagery of the chicken houses, but it really didn’t even touch the depth of cruelty in slaughter houses I’ve seen in videos on the ASPCA website, so it was overall ok. I don’t remember anything else standing out to me as far as food turn offs, but there is a very interesting segment on food patents, and it will make you want to blow up Monsanto. I was so angry after the movie at how they destroyed a little old man’s livelihood and life that I didn’t know what to do with myself.
It’s a pretty good movie, goes by quickly, and takes you just enough to a uncomfortable edge so they know they’ll have you paying attention but not totally turned off, if that makes sense. I’d recommend it
Comment by Sophia — January 8, 2010 @ 8:15 pm
Just to clarify, I didn’t mean for my comment to come off snobby vegetarian vs. meat eater. It’s just that seeing those kind of images and such were what led me to become a vegetarian, and it might turn you off of meat as well if you eat it, or at least factory farmed meat. No judgment either way
Comment by Sophia — January 8, 2010 @ 8:17 pm
Food Inc is still on instant watch on netflix. As soon as I get off the night shifts, it’s the first one we’re going to watch.
Roxanna, I also LOVE chopping up fresh vegatables. Actually, when I have time (a very important condition), I love to work with my hubby to whip up new, delicious, fresh dishes.
I feel like I pretty much already do follow a lot of Pollan’s rules. I don’t LIKE any junk foods, other than sweets. Most fast food makes me sick to my stomach. I am not at all attracted to potato chips, soda, or fried chicken. I grew up with a mother who made magical cookies, so the storebought variety don’t even get my attention.
But I do have a severe, severe weakness for good sweets. After I eat anything, I like to end with a sweet taste in my mouth. I try to keep some nice dark chocolate on hand so that I can take care of my craving with one rich square; but I not infrequently find myself going through a whole package of starbursts without even realizing it. I love ice cream. I crave chocolate mousse. I have a killer recipe for dulce de leche cheesecake squares with a dark chocolate ganache. So far, though, I’m still pretty healthy. I think incorporating the homemade rule would be a good one for me.
Oh, and if anyone is ever looking for amazing food from scratch, this food blog is one of my favorite sites on the entire internet.
Comment by Natalie K. — January 8, 2010 @ 8:17 pm
Ideally, I would limit my meat to only once a week. However, I usually just eat the food that is in my work’s cafeteria, and it’s usually meat, fat, fried food that has been sitting under a heat lamp for hours.
Sigh.
Comment by Natalie K. — January 8, 2010 @ 8:18 pm
I got up to 265 mostly by eating things I cooked myself.
That was the whole problem ;(
I survived Food, Inc. It makes you very wary of eating chicken and ground beef, the one because of the way the chickens are treated, the other because the food looks unnatural.
http://adrr.com/recipe/ for my favorites.
Comment by Stephen M (Ethesis) — January 8, 2010 @ 10:25 pm
My Husband just made me a medium rare steak. Now I am about to have some homemade ice cream he made. What flavor? PUMPKIN. But my diet coke has vitamins added to it so i think that counts.
Comment by CZ — January 8, 2010 @ 10:49 pm
I have to admit, that since watching Food Inc, I can’t bring myself to buy chicken at the store anymore. I haven’t found a source for it, so once our jumbo bag of costco frozen chicken breasts run out we’re done with chicken (until I find a less revolting source).
I already don’t buy beef because my Mister “hunts” and we have a freezer full of buffalo meat.
My brother stopped eating hamburgers (except for the occasional grass-fed, pastured type) after seeing Food Inc. The beef part didn’t disgust me as much as the chicken part.
Comment by Alliegator — January 8, 2010 @ 10:51 pm
I think that butter and lard are beneficial in the right amounts. Where the problems arise are when it is combined with *sugar*. Sugar tells your body to RETAIN THE FAT!!!! And mine is very good at following orders. My family has food cooked in butter, drinks whole milk, has homemade tortillas fried in *lard*, and eggs for breakfast nearly every day, but we eat a LOT of vegetables, fruits, and very little meat. Mostly I cook a natural chicken once a week, saving the carcass for a delicious broth. Mmm….
We’re all pretty slim (except my 2yo’s cute, cute belly!) and I have 10 pounds to lose from *ahem* pregnancy fat, but that’s all. Good cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.
Comment by ErinAnn — January 8, 2010 @ 11:42 pm
Um, yes. here
I think this book and the philosophy behind it are awesome. I even agree with this rule. I just spent 3 weeks in the states and it was a huge shock to me after some time away - the grocery stores, the sheer amount of everything, the cost of healthy food. There wasn’t a single bit of actual real food in my mom’s entire house. I realized this is what I grew up with and the addictions it gave me have not been easy to try and overcome.
I had major digestive issues and killer headaches for most of the time I was there. I brought up these ideas of eating real food made from scratch and they literally laughed at me, saying why would anyone make from scratch what they can buy at the store. The whole thing made me realize that food problems in the States are not going away any time soon, I think it is probably much more common to feel like my family does than like I do (at least judging by whats available at the grocery store in the States).
Comment by julie — January 9, 2010 @ 7:01 am
Oven fries are my specialty! Do what is suggested above (cut, water, dry).
Then toss in oil oil (not too much). Then toss in cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper.
Then back at 450 or so for 10-15 minutes.
Yumm. Better than soggy freedom fries.
Comment by chris — January 9, 2010 @ 7:30 am
Try the oven fries with sweet potatoes. My family loves these and you get more beta carotene and less starch than you do with regular potatoes. Its hard to make them crispy but that seems to be overlooked.
When I was young we used to raise our own pigs for slaughter every year. I remember cutting the fat from those piglets into little chunks, my mom baking it and then pouring off the grease and when it cools voila…lard. That is what my mom largely used instead of Crisco, oil or Pam. I am in my 40’s and no cholesterol problems yet, but of course I haven’t had that as a staple in my diet for over 20 years.
I used to love making everything from scratch but a wife with MS and four kids later leaves me with 80% of the cooking responsibilities and now for the most part cooking is just an annoyance to get done with as fast as possible. Hopefully the joy will return some day.
Comment by Desert Rat — January 9, 2010 @ 8:53 am
I LOVE sweet potato fries. I haven’t had any for a long time.
My mom used to render her own lard too. We’re actually buying a pig from a farmer in vernon UT, but we’re getting it already butchered. I’m not at a place in life where rendering lard sounds like fun.
Comment by Alliegator — January 9, 2010 @ 10:22 am
Thanks for the brownie recipes Jim, Julie and Steve.
Comment by miles — January 9, 2010 @ 10:57 am
Lard makes the best biscuits, too, and it turns out after all these years that it’s way better for you than Crisco. Lard is not at all unusual in the South. I’m trying to be vegan and gluten free now so I don’t really get to eat any southern cooking at all. I’m learning how to cook things from scratch using stuff like tofu and xanthan gum. =)
I have to put in a good word to travelers for my hometown, Birmingham, AL. Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, we have the Civil Rights Museum, the 16th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park with statues of MLK and children protesters being squirted with fire hoses. We also have a good zoo and free art museum that’s almost never crowded. In June there is City Stages, an outdoor music festival for which they shut down most of downtown. In the spring there is the nearby Cahaba River with its rare and beautiful Cahaba Lilies. There are some gorgeous lakes within an hour’s drive (Lay Lake, Smith Lake, Lake Logan-Martin, etc.) Lots of outdoor beauty for hunters and fishers. There is great hiking and mountain biking at Oak Mountain State Park. There’s a big iron statue of Hephaestus at Vulcan Park, and a nice view as well. World class barbecue at Dreamland. It’s a nice hometown.
Comment by Tatiana — January 9, 2010 @ 11:30 am
Hey ECS, where is your post on food porn? or do we need to wait on pins and needles for that one?
PS. I can’t help daydreaming about making fried butter balls and leave them on your doorstep.
(all in good fun here)
Comment by AHM — January 9, 2010 @ 3:38 pm
Are you allowed to still call them “fries” if you bake them in an oven? Do you know have to call them “bakes?” Totally kidding. And I’m going to try that as soon as I remember to buy potatoes.
And Chris (#61) did you seriously call them freedom fries? 2003 called and it wants it’s lingo back. Does it make a difference that “french” fries actually originated in Belgium?
Comment by Risa — January 9, 2010 @ 9:07 pm
I shed around 150 lbs without switching from butter to margarine. I just cut down the number and size of servings with butter.
Also, I never dreamed I could go completely without goodies. So I decided it was once or perhaps twice a week, small helpings. I prefer to make it dark chocolate, since choc is my favorite.
And: vegetables and whole grain are good for you. The Atkins’ Diet will not work in the long run other than to make us permanently overweight and give a steady high cholesterol.
Comment by Velska — January 10, 2010 @ 11:29 am
yeah that rule also doesn’t work if you have a lot of time on your hands and fancy cooking is your hobby! my fridge is stuffed right now with leftover quiche, french toast, and baba ghanoush (with homemade pitas). on the counter there are marzipan cupcakes and gingersnaps. all homemade from scratch, which i think helps, but i still suspect somehow there is a problem
doesn’t help surely that i still live at home and share a kitchen with my mother, where we routinely fight over who will do the majority of the cooking for the whole family…
Comment by nobodyputsbabyinacorner — January 10, 2010 @ 3:39 pm
I make tons of candy during the holidays. It’s too easy to eat ALL of it!! My favorite is toffee, which is half sugar, half butter, and is pretty easy (and cheap) to make. This really is a silly rule that only really applies to french fries.
Comment by Anna — January 10, 2010 @ 9:21 pm
No, it would work for toffee for me, too. Just the visual is working pretty well.
Comment by Stephanie — January 10, 2010 @ 9:32 pm
ECS,
about the butter balls fried in lard. It reminds me of a favorite story of ours which is off topic (except insofar as the fact that it DOES surround junk food… 
), but gets us laughing in helpless shock everytime we think about it:
We were in beautiful downtown Lake Elsinore one night, having stopped off at the 7-11 on our way home (we lived in the mountains above there at that time). We happened to pass by a family eating their fast-food dinner on the hood of their car. As we walked within hearing range, we overheard the mother scold her pre-teen boy, “PUT that DONUT DOWN and FINISH your FRENCH FRIES!!!” We were torn between our absolute shock, our sadness for this little boy who was learning that french fries constitute health food, and our bust-a-gut urge to burst out laughing at the sheer absurdity of the comment (as well as what it says about our culture at large, and particularly the culture of the area in which we live).
I love the advice about eating only things our grandmothers would recognize as food (except for the fact that my family really enjoys both tofu and veggie sushie — things my grandmothers didn’t have much experience with), and to eat mostly plants. I’d like to add that eating those plants in forms as close as possible to how they come out of the ground or off of the tree is really important, too, since, as a vegan, everything I eat is plant-sourced, but not everything I eat is by any means healthy.
Comment by Lorian — January 10, 2010 @ 11:56 pm
Or rather, “sushi,” not “sushie.” Tired…
Comment by Lorian — January 10, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
From the documentary Killer at Large, which looks at the obesity epidemic and is available on instant Netflix, it says 48% of vegetables consumed by children are French Fries and Ketchup.
Pollan’s point is a pretty good one. One of the extra’s on Supersize Me is an extended interview with him in which he opens up a little on Chicken McNuggets. Essentially when you eat fast food you are eating a mix of chemicals to provide you an exact flavor and texture every single time. That is what will bring you back again and again. If you want Chicken Nuggets then make your own. They will generally be a lot healthier for you than the processed product.
Some food companies are trying to provide the end consumer with a healthier product, but given the demands of the average consumer it is extremely difficult. While everyone is different the typical consumer wants food that is cheap, has a consistent flavor, convenient (easy to prepare), great shelf-life, complex (as in multiple ingredient entrée), and readily available. If you want healthier fare then generally speaking you have to give up some of those desires and buy fresh ingredients and make it yourself. Basically Pollan’s point.
I have only read Omnivore’s Dilemma, and as someone (full disclosure) who is gainfully employed by the “Industrial Food Complex, I found it very good but a little dry at times. He comes across much better in an interview situation. Another great read is Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. (http://mindlesseating.org/) He studies eating habits and is quite entertaining as he points out a lot of where we go wrong (like the larger our plates the more we will eat).
Comment by TStevens — January 11, 2010 @ 10:42 am
Speaking of real food, has anyone on the Utah Valley area had experience with local CSA’s? I was looking at getting veggies delivered by this place http://heritageharvest.net/ Any advice about how to pick a CSA?
Comment by Moniker Challenged — January 11, 2010 @ 10:58 am
Ketchup as a vegetable, really? I remember when Ronald Reagan, in all of his no nonsense (or just no sense) cost cutting actually floated the idea that ketchup should be counted as a vegetable on school lunches. Absolutely delicious and nutritious.
In college I drove the grandma’s home twice a week from the senior center. Their favorite topic was the young kids and how absurd it was in how they used so many prepared foods like Hamburger Helper etc. It was cute but sad none the less because I was usually going home and making that Hamburger Helper.
Comment by Desert Rat — January 11, 2010 @ 6:07 pm